When the Devils fell apart in the third period Tuesday night in Calgary, it was a reminder of how there is basically no margin for error with an injury-ravaged roster unless the goaltender plays extremely well.

It was also the 70th game of a disappointing season that can essentially be broken into two halves. Taylor Hall, the MVP of the league last season, has not played in the past 35 games. He was injured in mid-December and missed two games, then came back for four but hasn’t been in the lineup since the final game before the holiday break, a Dec. 23 loss against Columbus.

The Devils won 12 of the first 35 games (12-16-7). They’ve won 13 of the past 35 (13-20-2). That makes the stretches seem similar on the surface, but digging into the numbers, the two halves of the season to date have been quite different.

It’s easy to look at this Devils season as, “A bad team is going to find ways to lose.” A more nuanced reaction takes...